The Biggest Question Facing Brewers For Playoff Push

It was shared initially that the expectation is that he will return at some point this weekend against the Pirates. While this is the case, he isn't in the lineup for Friday's series opener against the Pirates, as shared by the team.

The Brewers are 86-55 on the season and have a 5 1/2-game lead over the Chicago Cubs. If Yelich's back doesn't recover how the team hopes, this could very negatively impact the team's chances at the No. 1 overall seed in the National League. The Brewers have the inside track to the top seed, but losing Yelich's bat would be a lot to overcome. He is slashing .268/.350/.464 with a team-leading 27 home runs and 92 RBIs.

The closest player in home runs to Yelich is Jackson Chourio at 18. The closest person to Yelich in RBIs is Brice Turang at 70. Over the final few weeks of the season, Yelich's back is going to be the most important thing because there's a real argument that the team's playoff chances hinge on it.

Now, the Brewers have a next-man-up mentality and has already overcome expectations all season to this point. Injuries have decimated the roster throughout the campaign to the point where there was a time in which Freddy Peralta was the only expected starting pitcher for the team that was healthy. They made it through back then and will probably find a way to get through, but Yelich's back is a massively-important topic.